Judy Johnson

Name:  Judy Johnson

Email:  judithajohnson@verizon.net

Have you travelled to Southeast Asia before?  If so, what year?

We traveled with Journeys Within in 2009.

Where did you travel to in Southeast Asia?  Did you visit JWOC?

Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.  (We began our trip in China.)  
We volunteered in Siem Reap and got to see the school, several sites of JWOC supported wells, and micro-finance locations.   
We were able to talk to the JWOC students/volunteers and to members of the community served by JWOC.  We also visited the 
JWOC project in Laos.  

1. Where do you consider home?  If it is not where you currently live, tell us why.

We consider Winchester to be “home,” but we also have a family cottage on Chappaquiddick that our extended family considers 
“home” as well.

2. How did you first hear about Journeys Within and what inspired you to get involved with either the Tour Company or 
JWOC?

I read about travel a lot, and had identified Journey’s Within as a company to keep in mind when we were able to go to S.E. Asia.  
I liked the small, personal flavor of the company; the knowledge and experience of staff members; the flexibility of the itineraries; 
the reasonableness of the cost; and particularly the fact that JW was connected with and supported the community.  I was 
immediately struck with the idea of the “give-back” tour.  Over the next year or so, I continued to hear about JW in travel 
publications/web sites, including the article in Conde Nast, all of which confirmed my desire to travel with JW.   

3. What does “See a Problem, Solve a Problem” mean to you?

To me, it means that JWOC does not bring its own priorities and plans to the community but responds to needs that can be seen 
to arise in the community in which JWOC “lives.”  It means that JWOC is not daunted by the fact that the problems are enormous, 
but instead focuses on an identified problem that it hopes to ameliorate.  

4. Which JWOC projects were you involved with while you were in Southeast Asia?  What was your favorite, and why?

I was involved in meeting and talking to students at the school and writing up some of their stories; I visited a school and village 
where the first community well was being installed, and wrote an article based on what I learned; and I helped design a “lesson 
plan” to help students write appropriate emails to their sponsors (as well as participating in one of the discussion groups after 
the “lesson”).   In Luang 
Prabang, I accompanied Nicole and scholarship students to a village where the children were given books (and where we joined 
the village leader and others for lunch), and also to a school where we saw students studying English.

My favorite project was participating in the development of a “lesson plan” on writing an email, and being part of one of the 
student discussion groups.  I felt I could contribute something to this project – both in the design and also in the informal 
interaction with students, which I very much enjoyed.  

5. Does a particular memory or experience stand out for you from your time with JWOC?

In addition to the experience with the “email” project, I had other memorable experiences, including being invited into the homes 
of several of the villagers where the community well was being installed; interacting with individual children, both in the school 
and in the community; talking to a few of the scholarship students; and meeting the community “leader” and participating in the 
luncheon in Luang Prabang.

6. What were the striking differences and similarities you noticed about Southeast Asia and your home country?

I was struck by a number of differences:

      1. The fact that the children were often without adult supervision.  (Instead, the older (but not very old!) children care for the 
younger ones, which makes for a very different childhood from in the US.)  
      2. The lack of primary health care services.  (Even basic health care services did not seem to be available for many S.E. 
Asians.) 
      3. The small houses, very simple standard of living, and lower standard of hygiene; less emphasis on safety.
      4. The good cheer and generosity, of the people; the enthusiasm of the students. 
      5. The fact that almost all the children I talked to wanted to become tour guides.  (A few did want to be teachers.)
      6. The wide definition of “family.”
      7. The limited discussion of politics.

Similarities

      1. The children were similar to children here – fun-loving, enthusiastic, interested in the world around them.    
      2. Close-knit families – like many in the U.S – sharing the basic human desire to care and provide for family members.
      3. The widespread environmental degradation.
      4. The increased presence (in Thailand, in particular) of cars.
      5. The importance of having money or other resources in seeking an education, health care.
      6. The wide gap between the rich and the poor.